[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 168 (Wednesday, October 23, 2019)]
[Senate]
[Page S6088]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         ADDITIONAL STATEMENTS

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                    TRIBUTE TO DR. EDWARD C. MONAHAN

 Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, today I wish to recognize Dr. 
Edward C. Monahan, a professor at the University of Connecticut and 
longtime director of Connecticut Sea Grant.
  Throughout his two decade tenure as director, Dr. Monahan positively 
transformed Connecticut Sea Grant, which is an integral part of a 
national network of programs that strive to protect and enhance our 
coastal and marine ecosystems through outreach, education, research, 
and technology. His remarkable work and visionary leadership secured 
vital funding for initiatives that improved the water quality in the 
Long Island Sound and helped establish a full-fledged Sea Grant College 
Program in our State.
  Dr. Monahan demonstrated his excellent qualities as a leader through 
his decisive problem solving and readiness to find and implement 
solutions to critically important issues. A notable example came in 
1999, when the Long Island Sound faced lobster die-off, an 
unprecedented disaster for the sound's resources. He responded 
immediately by awarding development funds for pathobiologists to 
investigate the cause. The issue turned out far more complicated than 
initially expected, but Dr. Monahan smartly worked to allocate $3 
million in Federal disaster relief funds to investigate the source. 
Over 3 years, 65 researchers at 30 institutions too part in 21 lobster 
research projects. This research helped uncover essential information 
for lobster biologists and led to changes in State and local pesticide 
usage for mosquito control.
  One of the other landmarks of Dr. Monahan's directorship was his 
expansion of Sea Grant's international collaboration. Recognizing the 
advantages of overseas partnerships, Dr. Monahan worked with 
universities and government agencies to forge new connections that 
would support the exchange of innovative marine education, research, 
and technology. Impressively, he launched the Irish-American 
Aquaculture Initiative. This initiative launched a formal collaboration 
between Northeast United States Sea Grant programs and universities in 
the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Dr. Monahan also helped 
to establish relationships with Sea Grant activities in Mexico, Chile, 
China, and Germany, which set a new standard for international 
cooperation.
  Among his many accomplishments as director of Connecticut Sea Grant, 
Dr. Monahan also served on the Sea Grant Association, a nonprofit that 
organizes events at the national level and advocates for better 
understanding, use, and conservation of natural resources. Thanks to 
his outstanding efforts, Sea Grant has developed into an even more 
successful program. In recognition of his immense and ongoing 
contributions, the Sea Grant Association awarded Dr. Monahan its 
prestigious President's Award in 2000 and 2001, along with its 
Distinguished Service Award in 2005.
  I applaud his lifetime of dogged commitment to Connecticut's coastal 
and marine health and hope my colleagues will join me in thanking Dr. 
Monahan for his extraordinary contributions to the marine 
sciences.

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